Halloween 3:Season of the Witch

 

Halloween 3:Season of the Witch

1982

Director-  Tommy Lee Wallace

Cast- Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O’Herlhy

Music by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth

                      

    You probably already know the origin of the movie. Michael Myers was dead at the end of Halloween 2 and Hollywood had not yet decided to make its slashers immortal so it was time to move on. Part 3 was to be the first of many Halloween films that would all be different.  However, folks just couldn’t dig a movie called Halloween that didn’t star Mike. If the tag had been left off and the film had just been billed as Season of the Witch, it may have fared better.

            

    This movie is one of the most bizarre combinations of themes you are likely to find. A millionaire toy maker (Dan O’Herley) is hatching a scheme to end the world as we know it. He has transported a piece of Stonehenge to a factory in America. There he uses a complex array of technology to channel eldritch forces. This energy is transmitted, via a microchip, into Halloween masks that do some really horrible stuff when activated. Assisting him is an army of androids! A doctor going through a failed marriage (Tom Atkins) and a young woman (Stacey Nelkin) stumble on the conspiracy and then try to stop it.

           

    Without a doubt the best known part of the movie is the Silver Shamrock theme song (“Happy Happy Halloween Halloween!). An earworm from Hell, once you start singing it, it will be there all day.

            

    As weird as this film is, it somehow manages to hold itself together. It is very moody. John Carpenter’s musical handiwork is immediately recognizable in the score. Most films shy away from violence against children, but this film doesn’t, showing it in pretty dramatic fashion.

           

   The dread in the film builds and a real sense of paranoia is evident almost from the beginning. We are exposed to increasingly bizarre things. Accepting these makes it that much easier, by the end of the film, to go along with its weird science-magic premise. Genre great, Tom Atkins and Stacy Nelkins are believable as average people caught up in a supernatural conspiracy. Dan O’Herlhy makes my top 10 villains list with his portrayal of a modern day witch using technology to work magic.

           

    Watch Halloween 3 and just accept what you see. Don’t try to reconcile the disparate elements. The incongruity adds to the fear.

Night of the Demons

Night of the Demons

Amelia Kinkade in her signature role.

1988

Director- Kevin Tenney

Cast- Cathy Podewell , Linnea Quigley,  Alvin Alexis, Amelia Kinkade , Lance Fenton, Hal Havins, Billy Gallo, Jill Terashita, Allison Barron, Philip Tanzini,

            

   Not be confused with the very serious 1957 movie, Night of the Demon, this movie is pure fun. In a way, it’s the archetypal 80s horror film with many of the conventions, and faces, popular in that era. The most familiar face is of course, scream queen Linnea Quigley. Horror fans will know her as the punk Trash in Return of the Living Dead and a lot of other good horror films from the 80s.

            Its Halloween night and a group of horny teens decide to throw a party in the town’s haunted house (will these kids never learn?). For fun they decide to have a séance (will these kids never learn?). This summons a demon that has been living on the haunted land for a thousand years. The demon proceeds to possess various kids and kill them off one by one, particularly as they are trying to have sex (I guess these kids never learn).  

            The film has stand out moments mainly provided by the individual performances and the practical make up effects. Amelia Kinkade as the goth Angela looks beautiful and creepy in her black dress. She never goes over the top as the film’s principal antagonist. Although Linnea Quigley had a more prolific career, Amelia has permanently staked out her spot in horror history with this character. In particular is her wild dance number, with the gothic rock band Bauhaus playing in the background.

     The special effects, by long time effects wizard Steve Johnson, were pretty good for a B-movie of the 80s. Johnson has worked on a list of movies a mile long including The Howling 1 and 2, Big Trouble in Little China, Fright Night, Nightmare on Elmstreet 4, Highway to Hell, Species, Blade 2 and about a million others. The best effect is when Linnea Quigley (Johnsons one time wife) makes a lipstick disappear in a most unusual way. That scene blew my mind as a teenager and still holds up pretty well today.

            The film was followed by two sequels, both starring Amelia Kinkade reprising her role as Angela, as well as a 21^st century remake. These vary in quality. For some real Halloween entertainment, stick to the original and travel back in time to the era of screams queens and video stores.

Maybe not Linnea Quigley's best side, but still ,a pretty good side.